Blood Games II

In the beginning, Homo Sapiens was a prey species. Hunted by the creatures of darkness, we had no culture, and only the most primitive of tools. We were brought out of Africa, our homeland, into strange places, where we evolved to fit the land. Our terror, the Vampires, fed on us, as did the Lycanthropes and the other Creatures of Night. They hunted herds of us as wild animals, and they exacted their price in blood.

Enoch, as we call him, changed everything. He is called many things: Thoth, Quetzalcouatl, Enoch, Viracocha, Prometheus; but always the story is the same. The God(s) sent him to teach us the things we needed to know to push back the hated Creatures of Darkness. For a long time, the battle between Light and Darkness was a seesaw conflict, but eventually the Light triumphed through the Nullity, which made all the supernatural ineffective, including our own magic.

People's belief in Science was what powered the Nullity, and with that power slowly fading, the Nullity covered less and less. The supernatural creatures began spreading out of the isolated backwaters they had been penned in for so long, although scientists dismissed these sightings as hallucinations and fabrications.

Thus, we, the forces of Light, the heirs of Enoch, again have both the need and the means to pick up the challenge thrown by the Dark. Unless we hold the forces of Darkness at bay, civilization will crumble again, and the Darkness will cover all.

Blood Games II is set in the real world, anywhere from the Renaissance to today.

In Blood Games II, the players play the role of individuals from different walks of life who have joined forces to fight the Creatures of the Night. These individuals may be one of two types:

Path Characters are subtly enhanced normal humans who have been chosen to serve as champions by various parties. Some have the ability to cast powerful magics or miracles. Some are imbued with uncanny luck. Many are strongly religious in character, while others are not.

Non-Path Characters are normal people who use their various skills in any way they can. Virtually all of these people have been hurt by the Creatures of Night in one way or another and have determined to resist them. Most have odd little quirks which develop from facing the horrors of the supernatural, but they have no control over these quirks.

There are others, as well. Half Angels are born with powers, but they themselves choose whether to use them for the Light or the Dark. Immortals can never die unless, just maybe, they complete what they are supposed to do, and they can rest.

Religion is vital to the game. Many of the paths are religious in nature, and the reality of some greater being or beings helping humanity is a central fact. Blood Games is not, however, tied to any one religion.

Blood Games II is about courage, self sacrifice, and desperate heroism with no hope of reward.

"The various magical abilities available to the characters seem somewhat open-ended, with some very specific guidelines in place to reign in power-gamer type players. I like it, and think that it's extremely creative... One of the really cool things about this game is that most of the creatures, magic and religious effects are well-researched and grounded in the mythology/beliefs of the real world." -Matt Staggs review on skullring.org

Pros: Very good modern horror RPG. Some nice, new takes on some classic modern horror archetypes, and an interesting lifepath system for character generation. I heartily recommend combining this with On Her Majesty's Arcane Service for maximum effect. [...]

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